Leadership Day was nothing less than amazing! Our kids were outstanding in every aspect. The building looked amazing and felt amazing. The comments from our visitors were so positive. I will share many of those with you in this post. What I loved most about the day was that everyone felt proud to be at Parma, and we had so much to be proud of. We hosted guests from around the state and even a group from Indiana. I feel that we did our part as a Lighthouse School and gave many something to consider for their own school. Most importantly, our kids shined, and they were so proud. I hope we can all look back at this school year as a Leader in Me school and realize how far we have come in just one year. It seems like so long ago that we sat in Paul Wiley's classroom and heard him share his thoughts on visiting Frost's Leadership Day. It was at that meeting that our staff committed to becoming a Leader In Me School. You continue to be leaders, and I hope you feel as proud of our school as I do. I would like to share some of the emails I have received, some pictures from the day and even some of the videos. We were so nervous going into this day, but when it came down to the day, we simply needed to step back and let our kids lead!
An Email received from one of our guests:
Sue, and all of the Parma staff,
Thank you for a wonderful presentation! I am so impressed with ALL of your efforts. ... The whole morning was a breath of fresh air! I was uplifted with the encouraging aspect of a program that can build character and instill values that so many of our kids have lost. The team work that you displayed with nothing less than admirable!
Your building emits such positive energy! What a happy place to be! Thank you so much for sharing and for being a positive influence in our district.
I hope we will be following your lead.
Thank you for helping create such a positive, uplifting, happy place to work and learn.
When we scheduled May 23 as our "Leadership Day", it was so far away. It is no longer so far away. It is here. It is this week. When I walked through the building this weekend, I tried to look at it with fresh eyes. With eyes that do not see our hallways and classrooms every day. What I saw was a leadership school. I saw the theme of leadership, the 7 Habits, and kindness toward others throughout our building. Thank you for that. I believe we have much to offer our guests this Thursday. We have come so far this year.
I have been meeting with students and videotaping students talking about leadership. I love that our students know and understand what it means to be a leader. Do they make mistakes and poor choices still? Of course they do. They are still children. We are still human. I am excited to think about our students as we continue this journey.
They planted flowers!
They hauled mulch....and loved it!
They painted the Circle of Control!
The Clean up....I learned to supervise a little more closely!
I struggle, as you know, with turning things over. I worry about whether or not they will hang it straight, paint it neatly, say the right things, behave appropriately. Yet, when we have given our students the opportunity, they have impressed me over and over again. If you were not able to observe our students with our Senior visitors from Arbor Manor, it was precious. Our students were amazing, kind, gentle, sweet. What a great experience for everyone. I heard many comments from our visitors like, "This has been the best day of my life." "You have young men holding chairs for ladies. That is just wonderful."
The lesson for me.....we need to not only teach our students about leadership. We need to put them in the position to be leaders. As young men escorted women to the van, I saw on their faces that they felt like a leader, they felt good about themselves. As students, covered in paint, looked at the wall they had just painted, they felt like a leader. They were proud. Students who cleaned and took care of the lost and found corner, suddenly are more aware of items left laying around. Letting them lead is the best way to help our students become leaders!
We may not feel completely ready, but our kids are ready to lead. Leadership Day 2013 at Parma Elementary will be amazing!
Video:
Together we can change the world
Priceless Pictures:
What beautiful kids we work with every day. What a difference they can make in this world!
I am so thankful to come to work every day with a group of people who share my passion for our school and our kids. When we look at anything for our school, the first question I hear is whether or not it is good for our kids. I can't thank you enough for that. I can't thank you enough for the extra hours, effort and at times frustration to do what benefits our kids.
Appreciate you! That is such an understatement. I am in awe of you. I am aware of the hours you put in to making every day count for Parma Students. You are appreciated beyond words!
I love to watch students learn and grow throughout the school year. I love to see the relationships each of you develop with our students. Those relationships make all the difference in the world. And I am talking to every single one of you. Please take some time to watch the TED Talk video below. Rita Pierson, an educator, speaks about the value of relationships and "how every child deserves a champion-an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.!"
I hope you know how proud I am to be a part of the Parma Elementary Staff. I hope you know how much I appreciate you every single day! Thank you....thank you for being Champions!
Think Different: Thank you for thinking differently and being crazy enough....
People will forget what U said, people will forget what U did, but people will never forget how U made them feel -Maya Angelou This Week At A Glance:
Monday, May 6:
Tuesday, May 7: 6:30 Staff Appreciation Breakfast
Tuesday, May 7: 8:30 MS Band Visit
Tuesday, May 7: 3:45 Lighthouse Meeting
Wednesday, May 8: Walk to School Day
Wednesday, May 8: Grades Y5 - 2 Assembly
Thursday, May 9: 4:00 School Improvement Meeting
Friday, May 10: 8:00 Staff Meeting
